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I've been trying to get into mountain biking recently, but it has often left me frustrated and sometimes even in tears. I have a hard time accepting that it is VERY different than road biking AND that it doesn't come naturally to me despite how similar it is to horseback riding (which I spent many …

I got to witness the beginning of something wonderful for about 20 women today as they started their journey to run/walk a 5K with Running Start this September. Running Start is a nonprofit organization, started by Nicole DeBoom, whose mission is to “provide women with barriers to fitness the confidence, courage and community support they …

My stump (residual limb is the more proper term, but I call it my stump and so that's what I'm going to call it in this post) is generally fairly compliant and, even when not compliant, at least somewhat predictable. I know the problems I’m likely to have when exercising for long periods of time, …

The following guest posts come from my mom, Zach's dad, and Zach's mom and provide the perspective of parents cheering on their kids doing an Ironman from afar. I hope you enjoy reading about their experiences! Sheryl Damron - Emily's Mom When I first heard that Emily and Zach were going to train and commit …

This is a guest post by my husband, Zach, who also toed the line at the Boulder Ironman this weekend. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my race recap, he had a few setbacks that ultimately ended his day earlier than planned. He trained so hard for this race, and I am so impressed with his …

I FINISHED THE BOULDER IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am still telling this to myself over and over today because I still don't believe it, and I still look at an Ironman as an insurmountable feat even though I just did one yesterday. I think it's going to take a while for the gravity of what I just …

We are now just 11 days 9 hours 12 minutes and 40 seconds away from the start of Ironman Boulder (but who’s counting) and I really started freaking out about it today. I talked through it with Coach Mark this evening and realized that for my own piece of mind I needed to write a …

One month from today, I will embark on the most ambitious athletic endeavor I have ever undertaken at Ironman Boulder. Most people think I’ve lost my mind when they find out that I’ve voluntarily signed up (and paid money) to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run 26.2 miles all in one day. …

The coaching group my coach (the amazing Mark Sortino) started many years ago just revamped their website and the quote on the page for Para Sports reads, “We won't treat you any different than able-bodied athletes, but we know the difference.” Nowhere is this truth more apparent to me than during Ironman training over the …

When I saw the first Hunger Games movie 6 years ago I was extremely disappointed by the ending because Peeta does not lose his leg like he does in the first book. This may seem silly or even petty because Peeta being an amputee is in no way a central part of the book's storyline, …

A week ago today, Zach and I were getting home from a 3-day triathlon camp that was hosted by Team MPI in Henderson, Nevada. I have been intending to write a post about camp ever since we got back, and I finally sat down to follow through on that intention today. We arrived at camp …

I originally wrote this for the Achilles International-Colorado blog in October or 2016, and I originally posted it on my AmpTriLife Blog in February of 2017, but have since added some additional thoughts at the end of the post to recount the continuation of my journey as a runner. If you already read my original …